Question

Hydride of nitrogen is?
(A) Acidic
(B) Basic
(C) Neutral
(D) None of the above

Answer 1

It is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen and is a stable hydride which is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent smell. If a compound can donate a pair of electrons, then it is called basic and if it can accept the pair of electrons, then it is acidic.

Complete step by step answer: - So generally a hydride is a binary compound of hydrogen with another element. Non metals like oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, sulphur combines with H to form covalent hydrides ${H_2}O$ ,$N{H_3}$ , HCl
, ${H_2}S$ and on a general basis, the number of H atoms with which one atom of an element combines to form its normal hydride is called its valency.
- Generally ammonia is the most important compound of nitrogen.
- It can be manufactured by Haber’s process.
- In this process, a mixture of ${N_2}$ and ${H_2}$ in the ratio of 1: 3 is passed over heated Fe at 650 –800K as catalyst and Mo as promoter.
${N_{2(g)}} + 2{H_{2(g)}} \rightleftharpoons 2N{H_{3(g)}}{\text{ }}\Delta {\text{H = - 93mo}}{{\text{l}}^{ - 1}}$
- This is a reversible exothermic reaction.
- It is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent smell called ammoniacal smell. It is highly soluble in water and its solution is basic in nature. Liquid ammonia is widely used as a refrigerant due to its high heat of vaporization.
- Ammonia is basic in nature because of the presence of an active lone pair on the nitrogen which can accept hydrogen ions. As we have already seen it reacts with water by removing a hydrogen ion from a water molecule to produce ammonium ions and hydroxide ions.

- Therefore, hydride nitrogen is basic in nature. Hence, option B is the required answer.

Note: You should know that ammonia is more soluble in water than other gas. As we already know it’s a bronsted base, it also acts as a Lewis base and forms complexes with transition metal ions with its lone pair.